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August 31, 2012

A few weeks ago our neighbour (who sells wholesale fruit and veg - I know lucky!!) poked her head over the fence and gave us a whole bag of peaches. Now I would normally just eat these on their own but they were quite soft already so I wondered what else I could do with them.

After a bit of searching on my favourite recipe websites I came across this Jamie Oliver recipe for Grilled Peach Salad with bresaola and a creamy dressing and thought I would give it a try as a light Sunday supper. I was so glad I did - it was delicious. I couldn't get bresaola so substituted for parma ham but I don't think it really makes a difference. Oh and I used spinach instead of rocket (as that was also from our neighbours that day!) I thought this would be lovely served with a BBQ or as a starter at a summer dinner party.

August 30, 2012

I found this amazing free printables round up over on Pizzazerie blog which always have some great party ideas! Best of all, all of these are completely free to download! Woop! I actually used little brown paper pillow boxes to wrap the bridesmaid gifts at my wedding and they looked gorgeous but I wish I had found these stripy ones as they look so fun!

I love the candy crackers as well which would be a cute take on the traditional festive ones... I can imagine these on a contemporary Christmas table.

August 29, 2012

Today on Wedding Wednesday I thought I would share a couple of pictures of part one of our honeymoon. We chose to go to Singapore and Bali as we love Asia and we wanted to go somewhere exotic, that was not only good weather but that offered a glimpse of a different culture.

We arrived in Singapore after a 13 hour flight from London and were shown to our room with views to die for at The Mandarin Oriental. We were only there for three nights so tried to pack in as much as possible! Here are some pictures of the amazing skyline!

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

We managed to visit The Night Safari, took the cable car from mount faber to Sentosa island, did a bit of shopping and then visited my favourite attraction called Gardens by the Bay which had only officially opened a few days before. There were huge gardens you could walk around and two massive domes, one called The Flower dome and one called The Cloud Forest. They were amazing spaces to walk around and we spent hours enjoying the sights and taking pictures.

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

I have to say that food must be one of Singapore's main attractions! We ate some great food at some of the outdoor food courts (which can I say were a completely different experience to a food court in the UK) with lots of local food. Salt and pepper crab seemed to be a speciality and it was delicious! I love that they served it on huge leaves!

A Chi Chi Affair

Hope you enjoyed a peak into my honeymoon pictures - Have you been to Singapore?

August 28, 2012

Sorry if you missed me yesterday but I was taking a little bloggy break as it was a bank holiday here in the UK. I had a very relaxing time and it was lovely to have an extra day off work! Here is what I got up to!

On Saturday my sister and nephew Freddy popped over and we went for lunch. Isn't he so handsome which his blonde curls? The hubs and I also took a little trip to the cinema to see the Bourne identity which was actually very good. I thought it may be a poor sequel to the others (especially without Matt Damon!) but we actually really enjoyed it! Its definitely worth a visit.

A Chi Chi Affair

On Sunday we went to The Oxted and Edenbridge Country Show with the in laws. It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely time and spent hours looking around all the stalls. The horticulture tent was my favourite which was riot of colour with loads of beautiful flowers. I love those orange dahlias! How I wish I could grow some like that!!

A Chi Chi Affair

There were also lots of animals, dog shows, show jumping and giant vegetables (which were hilarious!) Aren't those little pigs super cute?

A Chi Chi Affair

Here are a few more pictures including me posing next to the vintage cars! I got that pink scarf in Bali on honeymoon and this was its first outing!

August 24, 2012

I am really into using coasters at the moment as they really brighten up my white table and I think they can add a fun touch to your tablescape. I thought I would do a little round up of some lovely ones on the market at the moment!!

I absolutely adore the turquoise, white and wooden symbology coaster (1) which is from Anthropologie - The colours are so fun and they would look so great on your table alongside some woven table mats and maybe a cactus as a centrepiece for a sort of Mexican desert chic style.

The patterned chevron coasters (2) from Lori at Etsy would really brighten up your table everyday.

These moustache ones (3) from ruffhouseart at Etsy would be gorgeous for a guys birthday party!

August 23, 2012

I love washi (or patterned) sticky tape but I have to say I've never really quite known what to do with it day to day. However Hello Joy have just posted this really cool idea for gift wrap. How great does this pattern look? It really brightens up the brown paper and is such a stylish design. I am definitely going to be trying this - perhaps for a couple of birthdays I have coming up....

August 22, 2012

As you can imagine I loved planning all the details of the wedding. Led by the contemporary style of the venue I chose a kind of glamorous city chic theme which suited the London location. I used black and white stripes as the main pattern and brought in pops of corals and pinks in the flowers that you can see in the post here. I also used some silver and gold to add a touch of glamour!

I'm going to let you peruse the photos without too many words but my favourite details are the Cheers coasters that were from Sugar Paper, the little gold drink flags that I made for the cocktails, my sweeties in apothecary jars and of course the stripy straws! (Its not a party without those straws!!)

August 21, 2012

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I have been feeling a bit under the weather for the past couple of weeks but have finally kicked the virus and I'm feeling so much better. The sunshine that made an appearance this weekend totally helped my mood. Here is what I got up to!

I did a spot of cooking (an asparagus tart found here on Florence Finds) and I got to wear my new apron which was a wedding pressie from one of my besties. Its so cute I love it! I finally started writing my thank you cards that we had made on moo.com. We ate ice cream in the hot weather at Denbies Vineyard. The views are stunning.

A Chi Chi Affair

I also made a couple of new season purchases from Zara. This bug necklace that I am wearing with everything at the moment and this Navajo inspired skirt that I will breaking out when the weather gets a bit colder!

August 20, 2012

I love colourful parties and this rainbow one is so much fun and such a lovely theme for a children's party. I especially love how even the stationery follows the theme - Adore the rainbow stripes! Look at how all the paper goods also look cohesive - such as those cupcake holders used to hold snacks, those stripy straws (such a favourite) and even the stripy favour bags and spotty napkins. They are all very cheap and easy to buy but really pull the theme together! Details like the coloured water in the vases and that amazing coloured cake elevate this to rainbow fabulous!! How about getting the children to dress as all the colours of the rainbow too!

August 17, 2012

Happy Friday!
It's going to be a scorcher (Like 30C!) here in the UK this weekend and how better to cool down than with a homemade ice lolly in the garden? I found a really great and easy to put together recipe for Smashed Berry Lime and Coconut yoghurt ice pops on the lovely Desserts for Breakfast blog which has some amazing recipes especially if you have a sweet tooth like me!

Although these look impressive they are actually quite easy to make (they contain coconut milk and Greek yoghurt as well as berries, lime and sugar) so do pop over here and give them a go. You know it will be worth it! I love the little messages on the lolly sticks too - so much fun!!

August 16, 2012

I just adore these free printables I am posting today that were created to celebrate Woman's day on The Pretty Blog. They are super cute little tea bag labels and a tea bag envelopes to make your cup of tea go from every day to super special. You can use them for your loved ones birthdays, a baby shower, a tea party with friends or a bridal shower. There are so many uses - why not use your favourite teas or you could even put a little biscuit or some sweeties inside the envelope.

August 15, 2012

Today I'm going to talk you through my dress and if you want to read the back story of how I chose it you can in this post here. The dress was Pronovias Paisaje from the 2012 glamour collection and it was a taffeta and silk dress with pleated tulle underneath, a sweetheart neckline and some wrapping on the bodice. I really loved it and I chose it because it suited my figure and I just felt really glamorous in it!! I definitely didn't want to take it off on the day and its so sad that its now just hanging in our spare room waiting to be cleaned. Luckily I have these gorgeous pictures!

A Chi Chi Affair

The main detail on the dress was this handmade silk flower cluster which added some cute detail just below the waist. I was definite I didn't want too much spearkle as I wanted to wear my Kate Spade necklace and also quite a statement diamonte bracelet as well so I ddint feel I needed many details on the dress.

A Chi Chi Affair is a lifestyle blog where I chat about entertaining, pretty parties, interiors, my style, recipes and everything in between! I'm also mummy to an adorable little girl! I hope you find some inspiration here!